Stem cells : what, why, whereabouts and when : part 3

Abstract

In 1999, the American pediatric association issued a recommendation stating 'Families may be vulnerable to emotional marketing at the time of birth of a child and may look to their physicians for advice. No accurate estimates exist of the likelihood of children to need their own stored cells. The range of available estimates is from 1: 1000 to 1:200 000. Empirical evidence that children will need their own cord blood for future use is lacking. There also is no evidence of the safety or effectiveness of autologous cord blood transplantation for the treatment of malignant neoplasms, For these reasons, it is difficult to recommend that parents store their children's cord blood for future use.